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Re: What movie did you last watch?

I guess I'm in the tiny minority, but I was unimpressed with "Lincoln". I like U.S. and Presidential history, so I was expecting to be entertained. But I wasn't. Spielberg had been wanting to do a movie on Lincoln for years and I was expecting something greater. Why did they devote the entire film to the arm-twisting involved in getting a piece of legislation through when they could have made a more broad film that expanded into other important events of his Presidency? With a 2:45 length film, they could have easily expanded into many other issues. There were barely any scenes devoted to the fascinating Civil War strategy. They should have incorporated the war more into the film. There could have been some incredibly dramatic scenes about the the end of the war and the emotion Lincoln must have felt as it ended. They also should have brought in Gettysburg and the Emancipation Proclamation. Also should have re-created the assassination instead of showing his son find out about it in a theater. I just don't get why you'd do a three hour film on Lincoln and devote it entirely to a tiny span of a monumental Presidency that expanded four years. There was so much you could do with this film that would have been more entertaining than three hours of arm-twisting on legislation.

The dialogue was also way too verbose. I felt like I was watching a play for much of the film instead of a movie that is attempting to portray realistic conversation. I don't think people in 1865 put so much dressing on their language.

The acting was great and the period detail was nice. But I feel like an opportunity was squandered and that the movie would have been way better if it talked about multiple historic events over his Presidency instead of devoting a 3 hour movie to arm twisting over one piece of legislation. I felt like the movie took place in two rooms.

Re: What movie did you last watch?

I guess I'm in the tiny minority, but I was unimpressed with "Lincoln". I like U.S. and Presidential history, so I was expecting to be entertained. But I wasn't. Spielberg had been wanting to do a movie on Lincoln for years and I was expecting something greater. Why did they devote the entire film to the arm-twisting involved in getting a piece of legislation through when they could have made a more broad film that expanded into other important events of his Presidency? With a 2:45 length film, they could have easily expanded into many other issues. There were barely any scenes devoted to the fascinating Civil War strategy. They should have incorporated the war more into the film. There could have been some incredibly dramatic scenes about the the end of the war and the emotion Lincoln must have felt as it ended. They also should have brought in Gettysburg and the Emancipation Proclamation. Also should have re-created the assassination instead of showing his son find out about it in a theater. I just don't get why you'd do a three hour film on Lincoln and devote it entirely to a tiny span of a monumental Presidency that expanded four years. There was so much you could do with this film that would have been more entertaining than three hours of arm-twisting on legislation.

The dialogue was also way too verbose. I felt like I was watching a play for much of the film instead of a movie that is attempting to portray realistic conversation. I don't think people in 1865 put so much dressing on their language.

The acting was great and the period detail was nice. But I feel like an opportunity was squandered and that the movie would have been way better if it talked about multiple historic events over his Presidency instead of devoting a 3 hour movie to arm twisting over one piece of legislation. I felt like the movie took place in two rooms.

I'm obviously in the minority though. Everyone else seems to like it.

Really? I was very surprised that was the entire focus, but if you love politics, I thought it was a neat thing to see.

With the assassination, I thought it was the right move. I (and I think like everyone else) learned about Lincoln every year in grade school in social studies. The scene of Lincoln's assassination has just been played over and over in my head. That's a hard thing to make your own as a filmmaker.

Re: What movie did you last watch?

What do you mean you're not supposed to like it as much? According to who?

Critics mostly. Honestly though, I think critics are just trying to be en vogue and contrarians by disliking it. I think many planned on disliking it before they saw it. I liked. Not sure if as much as LOTR. I will have to see it in its entirety to compare. Honestly at no point did I think it was slow. In fact I thought if it had a downside was that it was filled with non-stop fight scenes it seemed. With certain aspects of the action going over the top. But LOTR had over the top action scenes as well.

Re: What movie did you last watch?

Really? I was very surprised that was the entire focus, but if you love politics, I thought it was a neat thing to see.

With the assassination, I thought it was the right move. I (and I think like everyone else) learned about Lincoln every year in grade school in social studies. The scene of Lincoln's assassination has just been played over and over in my head. That's a hard thing to make your own as a filmmaker.

I wrote my thoughts immediately after seeing it. After sleeping on it, I should clarify that I don't think it's a "bad" movie per se because its certainly better than a lot of what's produced. I'm just a little perplexed at all of the 4 star reviews and 91% ratings on Rotten Tomatoes, and I'm someone who loves history and was looking forward to this movie. For me, it just wasn't good enough to blow me a way.

The 13th Amendment was important and it's good for the audience to be educated on it. But I feel that the story of how the 13th Amendment was passed could have been crunched into about 25 minutes and the rest of the film could have been used to talk about other important events in his Presidency since so much was going on. I would have liked to see scenes devoted to the intense Civil War strategy and emotions that he must have been feeling during that. They also could have re-created Gettysburg and the Emancipation Proclamation. Lincoln's Presidency was filled with so many different events that I don't think you can focus an entire feature film on just one of them. That doesn't do the other events justice. I would have also liked to have seen more recreated populated streets of 1865 Washington D.C. I feel like the movie was mostly contained to like three rooms. And I felt that "tone" felt mostly the same throughout the entire movie.

The assassination scene wasn't really that big of an issue for me and I understand why they "played it safe" so to speak. It's certainly been portrayed many many times. That being said, I would still like to see an authentic re-creation of it in a feature film. Pearl Harbor and Titanic were also portrayed many times before people decided to re-create a highly authentic version of them in a feature film. I think Spielberg could have pulled it off well with taste. I feel that an opportunity was squandered with it.

I did think the acting was excellent though. It's funny how Tommy Lee Jones has the same sarcastic vibe to him in every movie. I felt like I was watching Deputy Gerrard in "The Fugitive".

Re: What movie did you last watch?

Resident Evil

I decided to do an RE marathon, starting at the beginning since it's been a long time since I've seen any of these.

The first one is pretty much how I remember it; an average film that deviated too much in tone from the game. It should be scarier and less action-oriented with more familiar characters from the games.

Re: What movie did you last watch?

Am I wrong for thinking that "Lincoln" is getting tremendous reviews in part because people are predisposed to thinking that a film done by one of the most famous directors ever about one of the most famous figures in our nation's history with a highly acclaimed actor playing him is automatically going to be great? I do think there are people out there who think it would be taboo to criticize a Speilberg movie with Daniel Day Lewis playing Abraham Lincoln. IE, how could any movie about an iconic American figure with so much star power be anything but fabulous?

Maybe I'm just searching for loony reasons to explain why I'm a tiny minority who didn't like the film......

Re: What movie did you last watch?

The Queen of Versailles - Definitely the best doc on the recession that's come out; makes the Matt Damon one look even more childish. It's almost too relevant to really delve into the closer subjects (the horny old ******* and the beachball-titted blond bimbo) more intimately. I felt their level of awareness rise, but not quite the character adjustment that others observed. It's the kind of smart, subtle work that reality TV producers wish they could pull off. Very strongly recommended.

Jiro Dreams of Sushi - It's kind of a story about a man working tirelessly to achieve perfection. But it's mostly sushi porn. Mostly recommended.

Killer Joe - A fun, ultraviolent, full-frontal ride that almost takes itself too seriously but ends up working because of strong performances, especially Mr. Alright, Alright, and a lean running time. Pretty recommended.

Paranorman - It looks really great, but since they obviously needed CGI to do some of it, it's tough to really marvel at it. At least all the way. Some of the visuals reminded me of Aranofsky's The Fountain. Mildly recommended.

Re: What movie did you last watch?

Am I wrong for thinking that "Lincoln" is getting tremendous reviews in part because people are predisposed to thinking that a film done by one of the most famous directors ever about one of the most famous figures in our nation's history with a highly acclaimed actor playing him is automatically going to be great? I do think there are people out there who think it would be taboo to criticize a Speilberg movie with Daniel Day Lewis playing Abraham Lincoln. IE, how could any movie about an iconic American figure with so much star power be anything but fabulous?

Maybe I'm just searching for loony reasons to explain why I'm a tiny minority who didn't like the film......

You're in the minority but it's not a tiny one.

I share your feelings, for the most part.

I do think that the things that made it not good would have been even worse if they had included scenes like Gettysburg and the Emancipation Proclamation. The movie was overly dramatic and hammy for my tastes (not sure Spielberg was the right director for this type of project) and he basically showed us the least hammy part--acting-wise--of the Lincoln Presidency. Imagine if he would shown us DDL during the Lincoln-Douglas debate. Dear lord, would that have been too much.

Also, the scenes with Seward were the best. If anything, I wish they would have made a 100% Team of Rivals-inspired book only about his cabinet. That would have been great. The scenes with his family were terrible. Dear God.

Re: What movie did you last watch?

I do think that the things that made it not good would have been even worse if they had included scenes like Gettysburg and the Emancipation Proclamation. The movie was overly dramatic and hammy for my tastes (not sure Spielberg was the right director for this type of project) and he basically showed us the least hammy part--acting-wise--of the Lincoln Presidency. Imagine if he would shown us DDL during the Lincoln-Douglas debate. Dear lord, would that have been too much.

Also, the scenes with Seward were the best. If anything, I wish they would have made a 100% Team of Rivals-inspired book only about his cabinet. That would have been great. The scenes with his family were terrible. Dear God.

Good point that scenes about the Gettysburg Address and Emancipation Proclamation could have been overly hammy. I still think a movie called "Lincoln" should have included them though. Would you have liked to have seen more scenes about the Civil War? Not battle scenes necessarily, but scenes that would have portrayed the tactics and planning behind the Civil War, as well as the deep emotion that Lincoln must have felt. I thought it was unfathomable that the Civil War was all but ignored in a movie called "Lincoln". There was the scene where Lincoln was riding his horse amongst the carnage on the battlefield and the awkward scene where Lee didn't say a word and awkwardly tipped his hat to Grant, but what else? Very disappointing.

I agree with you about Seward. I thought the portrayal of him was the strongest and most authentic in the film. Seems like all of the accolades have been given to Day-Lewis, Fields, and Jones, but I thought Strathairn turned in the best performance as Seward.

I feel like Elaine in "Seinfeld" when she doesn't like "The English Patient". It seems like everyone I run into thinks this movie is awesome, aside from my two friends who I saw it with and also didn't like it.